Damian Lewis likens himself to royalty

'Wolf Hall' star Damian Lewis has compared himself to Henry VIII

Damian Lewis sees similarities between himself and royalty.

The 43-year-old actor, who is best known for portraying Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in 'Homeland', is set to star as Henry VIII in 'Wolf Hall', a BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize-winning historical novel.

And Damian thinks his elite upbringing at Eton College makes him the ideal candidate for the role, explaining: "The more I read about him the more I was happy - and alarmed - to find that I did share character traits with him.

"I suppose everyone else will be the judge of it, but certainly sitting in the clothes, it feels like a canny piece of casting, because I do feel, I do find similarities between myself and him.

"I think there's no question it helps having had the kind of schooling that I've had to play a King. Just the way, the sort of court structure, hierarchies, the way they're set up, it's something I feel I implicitly understand."

Damian stressed that there are misconceptions about Henry.

He reflected: "I think we all have this understanding that he was this womanising, syphilitic, bloated, genocidal Elvis character.

"And actually the truth is, though it might be an odd thing to mention, he had a 32-inch waist and he remained that way for quite a long time.

"He was the pre-eminent sportsman in his court. He was much taller than anyone else. His beautiful, pale complexion was often remarked upon by commentators."